Australia - Six states..and that funny little island.

[satay]

Forgot to add it may not be a brown snake that you saw. There are many other snakes that are brown from the brown tree snake to the taipan.. Our local snake catcher brought a snake to show me a while back, he knows I love snakes and it was a fully white snake with a brown dot on it... It was a brown snake..

 

[satay]

Yup, they do have their fair share of predators. We are pretty lucky in Finland, wolves and bears aren't that common, lynx don't bother humans, and our only venomous snake is only dangerous if you're allergic. A moose can do some damage, but they only defend themselves when they're threatened.

Think I 'd be more scared over there felix.

 

[satay]

G'day fellow Aussies!

Sorry to barge in on this thread but I have a bit of a dilemma and thought of all people, my fellow countrymen and women might be able to help me.

I am in country Victoria, it's stinking hot at the moment, and we have a reasonably large backyard shed converted into a chicken coop.  It's got an all wire frontage and the rest of the coop is corrugated tin sheeting.  It's a bit rickety with a few odd gaps, but it's the best we can do and it is dry in the Winter time (now we have the tarp over it!)

Anyway....today I went in there to see the chooks as I so often do, and up in the roof was a brown snake.

Naturally, I crapped myself.....

After re-grouping, I ran and got hubby and we chased and banged our way around the coop together for an hour.  During this debacle we (of course) lost sight of the snake!

As you can imagine, I am somewhat unsettled by this, especially considering I am the main care-giver of the flock!  We have no idea if the snake is now inside or outside of the coop, but if I were a betting woman I'd say it was inside, quietly biding it's time, waiting to launch itself at me next time I innocently mosey on into the coop.

My questions are as follows:-

1.  How can I train my chickens to become fully self-sufficient, clean their own feeders and waterers and generally exist without any help from me in the coop?!  and IF that's not possible....

2.  Do brown snakes eat full-grown chickens?

3.  Do they eat young chicks? (I have four (8 week old) chicks and one (10 week old) chick as well, all residing in a sectioned off corner of the main coop.

4.  Is there any way to encourage said snake to rack off?

The snake itself was maybe 2.5 to 3 feet long, and quite skinny.   I get the impression it was a 'young' snake, but somewhat of a desperado with a mean streak and a taste for chicken.....

HELP!

- Krista

Question 1.. No that's not really possible., You can use big feeders and waterers so you don't have to tend them as often if you are time poor but you will still need to clean the waterers and feeders and refill them from time to time. I spend over an hour every morning tending to my pampered animals around here but it gives me the chance to check on everyone as I am doing it as well.

 

[vehve]

Quote: You ever feel threatened by dingos?

According to estimates, we have about 1400 bears, 140 wolves and 2800 lynx. Scattered out over an area of 304000 square kilometers. That's about one predator for every 70 square kilometers. Pretty scarce in my opinion.

I don't know what the statistics for Finland are, but more people in the US are killed by vending machines than wolves. I haven't read about a human being attacked by a predator in Finland in decades.

 

[vehve]

Okay, just found some source stating that a wolf last killed a human here in 1881. For bears, it's more recent, 1998.

 

[satay]

You ever feel threatened by dingos?

According to estimates, we have about 1400 bears, 140 wolves and 2800 lynx. Scattered out over an area of 304000 square kilometers. That's about one predator for every 70 square kilometers. Pretty scarce in my opinion.

I don't know what the statistics for Finland are, but more people in the US are killed by vending machines than wolves. I haven't read about a human being attacked by a predator in Finland in decades.

That is good to know Felix. Dingoes, no never had a fear of them, we do have them out here but they generally never attack people. They have had attacks on Frazer island and Stradbroke island by dingoes but that is because people feed them and they come in looking for food.
You'd be more likely to be attacked by a koala or a kangaroo in the wild if you cornered one and even that is not that likely.

 

[birdman55]

well just got the doors cut out and walls done with wire...check out the thread below..im building my own incubator with step by step instructions...have a good day./ night.

 

[cwrite]

Id burn it down and move. But thats me lol

Seconding this!

Actually I read a study done on the aggression of brown snakes and apparently they are only aggressive if they don't have cover or are cornered which they may well feel in a coop. I would love to know how they recruited volunteers to see whether the brown snake moved towards or away from the person in the variable conditions.

Anyway @krista74 , your local snake person is your best bet. You may want to check how far they are allowed to relocate the snake and fill any gaps. Good luck and stay safe!

PS: If you have any luck with no 1 please let me know.

 

[K Spot]

Last year I was just about to enter the chicken run when I looked to the right and thought to myself hmmm, that stick is moving.... holy moley that's a huge eastern brown! He was maybe 2 metres away from me.
We have put in chicken wire on the inside of the fence of the run on all sides except for the gate leading into the run itself, so the snake probably entered there, snooped around for a bit and couldn't find his way back out. I could tell he knew I was there as he looked and flicked his tongue directly at me, but was more concerned with finding an escape route to wanting to attack me. I quickly and calmly ushered the girls into the coop and shut the door (the coop is far from snake proof itself, but I felt better they were out of harms way for the moment), left the run to lock my dogs in the house and came back.
I found a large fallen tree branch and propped that up against the run fence so he had some how of escaping. I left for about 20 minutes, returned to the run and he was gone. It proved to me that snakes aren't out to get you (not that I had this notion in my head to start with) but if I had tried to mess with him and attempted to kill him (which I would never do) I would have been in a lot of strife I think.
He needed a way to get out and I made him one. I was happy to see him on his way, with no harm to me or my girls.

When I told some of my friends this story, nearly all asked me well why didn't you kill it? It truly amazes me that people would want to mess with an animal like that and perhaps the most common reason why people are bitten.

I have a healthy respect for snakes and I appreciate what they do.

 

[Teila]

Good morning folks

Wow, 5 pages of posts to catch up on!

K Spot Can I please enquire where the poultry sale is being held on Saturday?

Adorable pics

AussieChics I hope your gal starts laying soon and if not, that it is just heat related. I have no great words of wisdom to offer, sorry. To date, my gals have only stopped laying when broody or molting.

CB and CG love the pics; so cute!

Steampunked love your pictures also! My Silkies roosted on anything low enough.

Krista74 I know I should not be chuckling and your dilemma is a serious one but I love the comment “How can I train my chickens to become fully self-sufficient, clean their own feeders and waterers and generally exist without any help from me in the coop?! and IF that's not possible.” Let me know how you go with that?!

I’m with AussieChics and would be moving!

All joking aside now, if I saw it again, I would be going with the suggestions already provided and calling in a snake-person to relocate it.

No news of note from here …. GodCilla has been let out of broody jail and besides a fruitless attempt at sleeping in the nest box last night, has been out in the run all morning. Keeping a very close eye on her and if she even looks sideways at a nest box, back to jail for her!

We have a new garden guest .. a Blue Tongue Lizard has taken up residence under our bridge next to the fish pond. He is kinda cute! The gals are not impressed and make lots of noise when he comes out to sun himself on the pavers but to date, no reason to move him on. I don’t think he can get into the run or coop to steal eggs but if he does find a way, I may be calling someone to relocate him